Bloodletting
by Marcus S. Lazarus
Summary: While the League wait in Burgas for Christmas, Mina comes under suspicion of murder. To clear her name, Sawyer goes hunting, and finds himself facing something dealier than any foe he has ever known...
1. Shopping and Murder

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise.  
  
Feedback: All welcome  
  
Bloodletting  
  
In Burgas, a port city in Bulgaria, a man walked through the streets, looking around himself. It was dark, nearly ten o'clock at night, but the gas lamps made it bright enough for the people around the man, all busy with late-night shopping or less savoury activities, to see around them as clearly as if it was the middle of the day.  
  
The man in question was wearing a simple black suit and a white shirt, black shoes, and had fairly long reddish-brown hair. His name was Henry Jekyll, and he was looking for a friend.  
  
*****  
  
"Coming through!" Sawyer smiled, as he suddenly tore out of the building beside Jekyll, clutching a large assortment of bags. Due to the closeness of Christmas (It was only three days away now), the LXG had persuaded Nemo to stop off in Burgas for longer than he would have normally, and were purchasing Christmas presents for each other. While mostly they did it by themselves, Sawyer had agreed to give Jekyll a hand in finding some presents for Mina and Nemo; for Skinner Jekyll had already asked Nemo to help make him a new batch of lock picks, and Sawyer's he had acquired fairly easily. Mina had gone missing the day after their arrival, saying she had some personal business to attend to, but nobody was worried about her; they knew she could take care of herself.  
  
"Did you get everything?" Jekyll asked. Sawyer put the bags down and smiled at him.  
  
"You bet, Henry," he grinned, as he picked up two bags and showed Jekyll their contents. A fresh batch of chemicals had been purchased for Mina, and Nemo would find himself the owner of a new set of tools come the holiday.  
  
Jekyll smiled as he looked up at his leader. "Thank you, Tom," he said, as he took the bags from Sawyer and turned around towards the port.  
  
*****  
  
"Anytime, Jekyll," Sawyer smiled, as he began to walk after his friend. Due to the size of the Nautilus, they had decided that they'd only use the Nautiloid to get to the surface. If an emergency arose then the League would bring the entire Nautilus up, but since that was unlikely they weren't considering it.  
  
As they approached the Nautiloid they saw Skinner coming towards them, his arms laden with parcels and his white face grinning.  
  
"Hi there, darlings," he smiled at them as they continued walking. "Get anything good yet?"  
  
Sawyer raised one finger. "Ah-ah-ah, THAT would be telling, and anyway, you'll find out in a few days."  
  
"Well, can't blame a guy for trying," Skinner smiled as they reached the pier where they'd parked the Nautiloid. When they'd started using it, they'd erected a DO NOT USE sign in front of it, so nobody would go on it and find the ship.  
  
Looking down at the Nautiloid, where it sat at the end of the pier, Sawyer briefly found himself surprised that nobody else had developed something about this. When explained to him by Nemo, the principle of it all seemed so simple.  
  
Then again, many elaborate inventions appeared to be simple when explained to others.  
  
Glancing around to ensure their privacy, Sawyer slipped the packages to Skinner, who dropped them into the Nautiloid before slipping in himself. Just as Jekyll was about to follow on, a massive scream suddenly sounded from a large block of flats behind them!  
  
"What the...?" Skinner asked, poking his head out of the Nautiloid. However, he found himself a bit behind his teammates; Sawyer had pulled out a pistol and was heading towards the source of the scream, while Jekyll was checking his pockets for a phial of his serum. As Skinner got out, Jekyll had located one and, with it clutched in his hand, he was running after Sawyer.  
  
Deciding that he wasn't going to be much use as he was now, Skinner quickly shrugged his clothes off and rubbed away the paint from his face. Now invisible, Skinner ran after his friends, not caring or noticing the footprints he was leaving in the dust on the road.  
  
*****  
  
As Sawyer reached the flats, he quickly glanced up and saw a broken window just above him. He didn't recall hearing it get smashed, so it must have happened around the time of the scream. He filed that piece of information away for later reference, and then dived into the building, hearing Jekyll and Skinner hot on his heels.  
  
As he tore up the stairs towards the floor where he'd heard the cry, he suddenly ran into a rather shaken looking man, who was waving a stick at him. He quickly froze on the steps, and held up his hands in a calming gesture.  
  
"Easy there, Mister. I'm just here to talk," he said. The man looked over Sawyer, and decided that he could probably cope with him in the event of an attack. He lowered his stick. "W-who are you?" he asked.  
  
"Secret Agent Sawyer of the American Secret Service," Sawyer explained. Before the man could reply to that, he raised one finger and said, "Before you say anything, I know I'm some way away from America, but I'm currently on special assignment on a more... unique group." He then tried to look a bit more professional. "Anyway, what happened here?"  
  
"Oh..." the man said, looking back. "T-terrible accident, m-my wife..."  
  
"Can you let us see her?" Jekyll said from Sawyer; he'd come up while they were talking. "I'm a doctor; if nothing else, I can examine her condition."  
  
"Well, t-that's not much help, y-you see," the man stuttered nervously. "S- she's dead..."  
  
"Oh...I'm sorry," Jekyll said, leaning forward and laying a comforting hand on the man's shoulder. Then, a thought occurred to him. "Well, you still need a doctor for the death certificate. I'll be prepared to deal with that."  
  
"Th-thanks," the man replied, sounding ready to cry. He turned around and began walking up the stairs. "Sh-she's this way."  
  
As Jekyll began to follow him, Sawyer grabbed him by the arm. "Are you qualified for this kind of thing?" he hissed.  
  
"Well, I have a doctorate in medicine, and a fair grounding in physiology. I think I can make a fair diagnostic."  
  
Sawyer nodded. "On you go," he said, and Jekyll ran on past. As soon as he'd gone, Sawyer stuck out one arm and felt someone go 'oomph' as they hit it.  
  
"Skinner, scout around and see if you can find any clues as to who did whatever happened her, or where they went. I'd do it myself, but you can go places I can't. OK?" he said, staring down at where he hoped Skinner was lying.  
  
"Uh...sure," Skinner replied, getting up and starting to walk up the steps again. Sawyer waited a few moments, and then walked up after him.  
  
*****  
  
Having reached the top, Sawyer glanced around at the room where the murder had been committed. The door showed no sign of being forced, so whoever had killed the woman had been invited in. However, the fact that the window was broken to the apartment suggested that the killer had gotten out that way from the apartment. That suggested was either strong, courageous, insane, or... Someone with incredible abilities.  
  
Fortunately, we've got extraordinary ones, Sawyer thought to himself as he peeked over at what seemed to be a living room, given the chairs in it. Inside it, Jekyll and the man were kneeling over a body wearing a long, beautiful, blue dress. However, the effect of the dress was ruined by a large gathering of blood around the top, apparently spreading from a neck wound.  
  
Deciding Jekyll would want privacy, Sawyer headed for the room next to that one, and opened the window. Leaning out, he looked over at the next window. It confirmed his theory; there was a small bit of glass on the windowsill, and he could just make out some more on the ground below, glinting in the dust. As Sawyer watched the window, he suddenly saw something hanging on the sill.  
  
Curious, Sawyer pulled out his pistol and poked it towards the thing. On the first try, he hooked it off the sill and looked at it.  
  
It was a piece of black cloth with a red inner lining. It appeared to be from some kind of cloak, but it didn't give him any clues as to who- or what- had worn it.  
  
*****  
  
Jekyll sighed, got back onto his knees, and stared at the man in front of him. He sighed.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"Why?" the man asked. "She was already dead, you couldn't have done any-"  
  
"Her method of death was quite terrible," Jekyll sighed. "It would appear that someone, or something, literally...sucked her nearly dry. I can barely feel any liquid inside her at all."  
  
"Oh dear god..." the man gasped, as he looked down at the dead body.  
  
Jekyll wasn't thrilled about it either, but for different reasons. The method of killing was horrible, yes, but he'd seen bodies looking like this before...  
  
The bodies of the Fantom's soldiers after Mina had drained them.  
  
Shuddering slightly at the thought, Jekyll quickly reached over and looked at the woman's neck.  
  
It was just as he feared. Two small red dots were on it, just a little bit behind the jugular vein. They exactly resembled the two wounds on the Fantom's soldier that he'd seen after Mina had attacked them.  
  
He broke off that train of thought at once; Sawyer or Skinner may find some evidence that went against that theory. There was no reason to suspect Mina had succumbed to her baser instincts until he knew for sure.  
  
*****  
  
Skinner whistled slightly as he stared around the flat where the crime had been committed. In his old days as a thief this kind of thing would have been a very major haul if he'd tried to pull it off, but in his new career with the LXG he was more into looking for clues.  
  
Briefly he wandered into the room with the body, but upon seeing Jekyll already there, he just gave the corpse a quick peek before running out of the room. If there was anything to be found there, Skinner had faith that Jekyll would see it.  
  
Just then, he noticed a scratch on one wall. Examining it, he noted that it wasn't deep, but it still was a lot deeper than someone dragging a knife of some kind along the wall; even if they had been, no knife could make that deep an impression in stone. Following the scratch, he tracked it to a rather large room that seemed to be dedicated to religions; there were a great deal of symbols. A star, a seven-pronged candlestick, and...  
  
A crucifix.  
  
Lying on the floor of the room.  
  
That was the one that really intrigued Skinner. He knew that vampires were normally vulnerable to them (Mina claimed she was an exception due to her never having taken innocent blood), and, from what he'd seen of the body, a vampire would be the prime suspect. He was almost surprised at his even thinking of that as an option, but given that a teammate of his was a vampire, it wasn't like he was thinking up something ridiculous.  
  
The question was, was he dealing here with an actual vampire, or just some loony? Noting some slightly blackened parts on the crucifix, he was prepared to bet an actual one; most likely the vampire had tried to grab someone and had hit this instead, thus sustaining a bad burn. No human could have faked that.  
  
But where was the vampire now?  
  
And, more importantly- was it Mina? 


	2. The Game is On

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise.  
  
Feedback: All welcome  
  
Bloodletting  
  
Half an hour later, Sawyer, Skinner and Jekyll were going over the evidence of the crime in the Nautilus's main conference room. Nemo was the only other one present; the crew generally were uninvolved in League activity, and Mina was currently absent.  
  
Nemo had just finished reading a quick report that Jekyll had written on their way down to the Nautilus, and was now looking up at the others.  
  
"I see your worries," he said, as he laid the papers down. "The evidence you have here is remarkably damning towards Mrs Harker."  
  
"But it can't be her," Sawyer put in. "Mina's fought her vampire urges for blood for some years now, it's unlikely they'd have taken over now."  
  
"Emphasis on 'unlikely' there, Tommy boy," Skinner put in, from where he had his feet on the table as he lay back in his seat. "How do we know her recent fight with Dorian didn't leave her more hungry than we know? I mean, she couldn't exactly eat on the Nautilus without tipping us off, but here she's free to do it."  
  
Sawyer got up from his seat and stretched briefly. "One flaw there, Skinner," he said, looking over at the floating coat. "If it is Mina, why did she attack a victim right outside where we leave the Nautipod? She's not the type to take that kind of risk, if it is her."  
  
"Well, she is one of our stronger members, if not the strongest," Jekyll said, raising an inquiring finger. "Maybe she thinks we won't be able to stop her."  
  
"If you took enough serum, who's to say you couldn't overpower her?" Sawyer said.  
  
"Maybe she just thought it was worth the risk?" Nemo pointed out. Jekyll and Skinner nodded; they could see the wisdom in that comment, Jekyll even more. After all, in his time as Hyde he'd taken any risk to survive before joining the rest of the LXG.  
  
"It is possible, you have to admit," Jekyll said, looking over at Sawyer.  
  
Sawyer briefly looked like he was about to argue with them, but stopped himself. He just turned around and walked out the conference room, leaving the three of them behind without even a goodbye.  
  
The three remaining members looked around at each other.  
  
"So," Skinner said, breaking their silence of a couple of minutes, "do we keep an eye on him, or what?"  
  
"No," Nemo said. "Sawyer may be young, but he's still rational. He wouldn't go up against something that may be capable of doing what Mrs Harker can do by himself."

* * *

However, outside the conference room Sawyer was proving Nemo wrong. Not only was he now preparing to leave the Nautilus, he was also wearing a crucifix around his neck, along with carrying a few phials of holy water in his pockets. He had picked up two pistols loaded with silver bullets, his own remaining Winchester (The other one currently lying on Quartermain's grave in Africa, and this one repaired by Nemo following the damage inflicted by Moriarty), and Quartermain's old elephant rifle, Matilda.  
  
The other parts of his arsenal for this hunt were a gun of Nemo's invention that he could use to fire the holy water at his target, a rope with a large metal hook on one end (To give him a better chance of reaching the killer in time), and he had a few stakes strapped around his chest.  
  
He didn't think his target was Mina doing the killing, but it was definitely a vampire, so he'd need all this (Although he hoped he wouldn't have to use the stakes, he wasn't sure he'd survive a fight with a vampire at those close quarters).  
  
And if it was Mina...  
  
Well, he wanted to be the one to do it. If only because he wanted to show her that, just because of... the way he felt for her, it didn't mean he wouldn't kill her if she turned against them all.  
  
"The game is on," Sawyer whispered to himself as he pulled on a hat, shrugged on one of Skinner's long trench coats, and headed for the Nautipod. If any of Nemo's crew saw him they'd probably mistake him for Skinner, so long as they didn't make him look up or take his hands out of his pockets.

* * *

Once out under the night sky, Sawyer locked up the Nautipod and left it in its usual place before going over his options as to how to track down the killer. It was still dark, so, if it was a vampire he was hunting it would most likely still be active; there were about three or so hours to go until dawn, so it wouldn't need to worry too much about getting out of the sun. Besides, from what he remembered of Mina's speed, the vampire could probably get to safety in at most an hour.  
  
Sawyer reviewed what information he knew about Mina. Although she was able to manage on only one human every three or four days, with some extra food (Although at least the majority of the extra would need to be meat), she had once mentioned that a vampire feeding on humans alone would probably prefer one a night, especially if they'd been pushed for food in recent times. Given that the vampire had run the risk of there being more crucifixes in the house (If one room had them there was a chance they all would have had), he was prepared to bet the vampire had been having difficulties finding victims recently.  
  
Since there was unlikely to be another victim that night, Sawyer's best bet would be to get to a location where he'd be able to keep an eye out for the vampire wherever he was in the city.  
  
His eyes fell on a large tower near the centre of the city.  
  
Perfect.  
  
He worked his was towards it and, after a few minutes walk, reached it. Once there he quickly scouted around for the door, and, after finding one, he pulled out one of Skinner's lock-picks from the coat and began to pick it. He needed to get in before the sun was up, or he'd have a mass of people he'd need to avoid.

* * *

Later that day, Nemo arrived on the Nautilus's bridge, only to find Jekyll already standing there. The League were late risers normally; with a lack of light reaching them down here, they mostly woke up and went tot sleep whenever they felt like it. The only constant was that some were always up earlier than the rest, and Nemo had long gotten used to only Sawyer and Mina being up before him.  
  
"Something wrong?" he asked casually. Jekyll jumped and glanced back, relaxing a little when he saw who it was.  
  
"Not anything you wouldn't expect, after that...incident yesterday," he said, looking a little depressed. Then again, he often did. "I just had a rather hard night, and, after a few failed attempts at sleep, I decided to just come here."  
  
"Understandable," Nemo said, as he leaned forward on the main wheel of the Nautilus. "We've already gone through one problem with a traitor in our midst. I don't think we need another."  
  
"Yep, especially given who we're talking about," a voice said behind them. Looking back, they saw Skinner standing behind them in his black hat and coat, his glasses on where they assumed his nose was. They relaxed at the sight; the cream was better, but the other members of the LXG always preferred talking to Skinner when they could be sure they weren't facing the wall.  
  
"An accurate statement, Mr Skinner," Nemo said, getting off the wheel and looking back at the floating coat. "Well, whenever Mr Sawyer gets up here, maybe he'll some ideas for hunting her. After all, he did learn from-"  
  
Just then, Skinner interrupted. "Tommy's not here yet?"  
  
"Obviously not, he's still asleep," Jekyll said.  
  
"Actually, he's not," Skinner said.  
  
"What?" Nemo asked. This wasn't encouraging news. "Why do you think that?"  
  
"Well, I passed his room on the way up here and checked up to see if he was up yet," Skinner explained. "I didn't get an answer, so I tried the door. It was open, but the bed hadn't been slept in. He hasn't been in all night."  
  
The three of them looked at each other and swallowed nervously. It didn't take a genius to work out what had happened. Sawyer was missing. Mina was the prime suspect in a murder. Sawyer was interested in Mina to a greater degree than the rest of them. Therefore...  
  
"He's tracking whatever killed that woman by himself," Skinner groaned, hitting his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Is he nuts?"  
  
"No," Jekyll said, staring up at the roof. "He's just in love."  
  
The other two nodded at that. Sawyer may have attempted to conceal his attempts at flirting with her from the rest of the LXG, but they'd found out about it from some comments made between Sawyer and Quartermain on the way to the Fantom's fortress.  
  
"But why would he hunt the killer if it may be her?" Skinner asked.  
  
"Maybe because it could be," Jekyll said. "You know, if it isn't her, than he clears her name of murder, and if it is her... well, maybe he wants to prove to himself that he could hunt her."

* * *

_Trying to show you bring more to this party than it appears, hmm?_ Hyde said in Jekyll's head. _Forget it! You bring me and me alone to this game; it's just that nobody who normally makes these calculations is here!  
_  
_I know that, Hyde,_ Jekyll replied, trying to sound calm. _But, as you so ably pointed out, given the lack of Tom or Mina, I'm all we've got. So just calm down about it, hmm?  
_  
Hyde slipped into sulky silence.

* * *

The three men looked at each other. They had a fairly good idea of what was happening now, but the only question was what to do now.  
  
"We need to check Mina's room," Nemo said. "We may find some clues as to where she went after leaving us."  
  
"Sounds like a plan," Skinner smiled, turning around and heading out of the door, followed by the other two. "If nothing else, we could find something that proves or denies her involvement in these murders."

* * *

As Skinner opened the door to Mina's room, he briefly found himself remembering his old days as a thief, before he even found the formula of the physicist Griffin. One of his earlier heists had been on a dormitory for women in a nunnery; he'd failed to find anything really interesting, but he had tracked down a few golden crucifixes on the shelves above their beds. He didn't know why that had occurred to him, but theorised that it could just have been the similarities; after all, he was entering a woman's room now as well.  
  
This room was different from the room of the nuns, but the lack of furniture remained the same. There was a large chemistry set on a table with a chair beside it, and a bed a metre or so away. As the end of the bed was a large wardrobe, but apart from that there wasn't a great deal of things in the room; either Mina hadn't bought a lot of possessions to the League from her early days, or she wasn't much of a 'belongings' woman.  
  
"Bare, isn't it?" Jekyll said, looking around the room as he entered the room after Nemo and Skinner. "Doesn't seem like we'll find anything useful here."  
  
"Well, you never know," Skinner said, as he walked into the room and glanced behind the chemistry set. "In the old days I often entered houses that didn't seem like much, and then I found some massive set of jewels hidden away somewhere safe."  
  
Nemo and Jekyll simply nodded at his point, and then started looking around the room. Jekyll examined the chemistry set, Nemo looked under the bed, and Skinner checked out the wardrobe. However, only Skinner found anything interesting; a large, leather-bound book. He glanced at the title on it with some surprise; Dracula, by Bram Stoker.  
  
"Look at this!" he said, turning towards the others. Glancing back, Nemo and Jekyll saw the book as it hovered at the end of Skinner's apparently empty sleeve.  
  
"What's that?" Nemo asked, as he took the book from Skinner and idly flicked through it. He looked up at the others. "It seems to be the story of Mrs Harker's battle with Dracula, aided by her husband and various others a long while ago. Possibly irrelevant to our current objective."  
  
"Unless..." Jekyll said, as he took the book out of Nemo's hands, shut it, and ran his fingers over the sides of the book. Finding a slight irregularity, he opened the book and began to look over the page.  
  
Nemo and Skinner tried to look at the page themselves, but Jekyll shut the book before they could begin to read it. All they saw was that one corner of that page had been folded over, and that someone had written something in one corner of the book.  
  
"Well, that clears that up," Jekyll said, as he laid the book down on the bed.  
  
"What?" Nemo asked.  
  
"Well, if the book is to be believed, a woman in Transylvania once gave Mrs Harker's husband a crucifix, which was of some protection to him in the castle of that Dracula character she mentioned once to us all," Jekyll explained, as he left the room and began to head to the Nautilus's control room, followed by the other two. "According to the note, Mrs Harker always intended to go there and thank her for it, but this was the first real chance she had."  
  
Nemo nodded. "It makes sense. Transylvania is rather close to this area. At top speed, Mrs Harker could certainly make it there and back in only a few days."

* * *

_'Mrs Harker', Henry? What happened to calling her 'Mina'?_ Hyde said in Jekyll's head.  
  
"Shut up," Jekyll whispered under his breath.  
  
"Well, it doesn't exactly stop Mina being the killer," Skinner said, raising one sleeve and (Jekyll and Nemo assumed) a forefinger.  
  
"No," Jekyll admitted. "But it does give her a good reason for this long absence she's been on."  
  
They walked along in silence for a few more minutes, reflecting on that suggestion.  
  
"We need to track down Sawyer," Nemo said at last. "We may have found nothing to definitely clear Mrs Harker, but the fact that he may need our help is still a factor."  
  
"Agreed," Jekyll said.  
  
"Yo-ho, and up she rises, eh?" Skinner smiled, as they made their way back to the man control room.  
  
"Basically, yes Mr Skinner," Nemo replied, sighing. "You two get to the observation deck; I'll join you once we're above water." 


	3. Showdown

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise.  
  
Feedback: All welcome  
  
Bloodletting  
  
Meanwhile, back in Burgas, the sun was setting over the town. As it vanished from the roof of the city's central tower, the black lump that was Tom Sawyer stirred. Getting up from where he'd been sleeping the day away, Tom glanced around the city. The light could have been better, but fortunately it was nearly a full moon and the city had quite a fair amount of lamps in its streets. Plus, most of the buildings were light colours, meaning that the vampire would have difficulty finding camouflage in the city.  
  
After a brief moment of contemplation, Sawyer decided to keep an eye on the side of the city on the other side of the docks; it wasn't exactly a large town, but there was a fair chance that not many people on that side were aware of the recent killing. It wasn't much of a chance, but it was all he had.  
  
Pulling out Matilda, he put the target scope to his eye and began to scan the area in front of him. His eyes may have been reaching a state that could have equalled Allan's, but a little help never hurt.  
  
Nothing.  
  
Once again, he scanned the streets.  
  
Still noth-  
  
Wait.  
  
Spinning back around, he checked again. His suspicions were confirmed; there was something flying across the streets there. Actually, several somethings; it would appear the vampire had acquired a great deal of bats to help protect him from anything that may attack him.  
  
That was fine. Sawyer had always preferred a face-to-face showdown with his enemies. However, just to attract the vamp's attention...  
  
Slowly but surely, he aimed the gun again and held it on the swarm of bats. They were moving fast, he wouldn't deny that. However, he was fairly sure he'd actually get one of the bats if he fired right about...  
  
Now.  
  
The bullet tore through the air and struck one of the bats around the vampire. It fell to the ground at once, and the rest of the swarm changed direction and began to head towards Sawyer.  
  
As they flew towards him, Sawyer quickly reloaded Matilda and began to fire at the bats, managing to get off around four or five shots despite needing to reload after every one. Thanks to his recent training, every single bullet found its home in one of the flying mammals charging towards him.  
  
But he couldn't pick off enough of them to get a clear shot at the vampire. Just as the bats finally reached him, he threw Matilda to his left so it would be out of harm's way, dived to one side so the bats went past him rather than hitting him, pulled out one of the phials in his pocket, and threw it towards the bats. As it broke, something let out a strangled squeal before it collapsed onto the roof of the tower beside Sawyer.  
  
Spinning around, Sawyer pulled out his Winchester and pointed it at the mass of bats lying on the ground. "Get up," he said, as he raised the rifle to his eye and aimed at the pile. He had the gun pointing at where he thought the heart would be if there was a human underneath all those bats, but it was hard to be sure. "I'm not sure if silver bullets are for your lot or werewolves, but they have to do something to you."  
  
The bats fell from their heap as a man stood up and faced Sawyer. He was wearing a black suit, white shirt, and black shoes, with a long black cloak with a red inner lining almost completing concealing his body. He had dark black hair and a small moustache, along with skin so pale that put Sawyer in mind of Skinner. However, his most distinguishing feature were his dark red lips, with two long sharp teeth poking out over the bottom one.  
  
The fact that this guy was a vampire made this strictly a good-news/bad- news situation for Sawyer.  
  
Good news- he wasn't facing Mina. Therefore, there would be no worries about whether or not he'd pull the trigger.  
  
Bad news- he wasn't facing Mina. Therefore, this vampire could be capable of doing some things that Mina couldn't do.  
  
"You are aware of what I am?" the man said. Sawyer noted the slight accent in the voice- almost flawless English, but some foreign touch that wasn't immediately identifiable.  
  
"Yep," Sawyer said, still staring at the man down his rifle's targeting scope.  
  
"Then you are either brave or a madman for attacking me," the vampire replied, as he shifted his body slightly. Sawyer had been in enough fights to know when an opponent was preparing to attack. "Who are you?"  
  
"Secret Agent Tom Sawyer, formally of the American Secret Service."  
  
"You're a bit far from America right now, aren't you?" the vampire replied, as he began flexing his fingers. Sawyer was tempted to fire, but he'd prefer to know more about his opponent before killing him.  
  
"At the moment, I'm technically on vacation," Sawyer informed the vampire as he used one arm to ensure the stakes were safe. "I'm currently a member of a fairly new group called the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."  
  
"The what?" the vampire asked, cocking one quizzical eyebrow.  
  
"We deal with things that are outside the abilities of the normal law enforcement organisations. Things like you."  
  
"Ah," the vampire said, nodding a little. Then his face hardened. "Of course, you realise I won't be a pushover."  
  
"Who's to say I'll be one?" Sawyer asked.  
  
Then two things happened at once. The vampire leapt towards Sawyer, claws outstretched, and Sawyer fired the rifle. The silver bullet quickly bit into the vampire's left shoulder, tore out the other end, and glanced off the foot just below.  
  
The vampire fell to the ground, slightly wincing from the pain. Quickly, Sawyer reloaded the rifle and aimed it at the vampire's head. Sensing it, the vampire rolled his head slightly and looked up at the rifle, which was now pointing right at his eye.  
  
"Tell me, would a silver bullet to your brain kill you, or do I need to aim for your heart?" he asked casually. Suddenly, the vampire grinned.  
  
"You can't find out," he said. Before Sawyer could even pull the trigger, the man had grabbed the rifle and yanked it out of his hands. The vampire then leapt up onto his feet and, before Sawyer could attack, he'd thrown the rifle into the wall of the tower. It didn't break, but it definitely wouldn't be capable of firing anything soon.  
  
Staring down at the gun, Sawyer briefly found himself grateful he hadn't kept Allan's old rifle on hand for this fight. Then he got back to business as he reached into his pockets and pulled out his pistols, pointing them both at the vampire.  
  
"I'm not going to fall that easily," he informed the vampire, his trigger fingers just itching to fire. "Care to find out what else I'm packing, or shall you just stop now?"  
  
"No," the vampire replied, as he leapt forward again, his fangs now far more prominent than they had been before.  
  
Instantly, Sawyer fired two bullets directly into the vampire's chest, followed by another four in rapid succession. Although none of them managed to hit the heart, it wasn't an issue for Sawyer; all he'd been hoping to do was immobilise the vampire while he tried to get a better idea of a strategy. His old one, which was basically 'find it and kill it', was looking more problematic by the minute, mainly due to the fact that he'd never fully appreciated how much power Mina could pack before now.  
  
Then, another thought occurred to him.  
  
The holy water! It would probably do a fairly good amount of damage to the vampire, if nothing else. And, unlike the silver bullets, he didn't need to hit one particular target to ensure he'd do some serious damage; the water would cause a pretty severe burn that might manage to ground the vampire, no matter how briefly.  
  
Quickly, Sawyer slipped his guns back into his pockets, grabbed a phial from his pocket, and thrust it towards the vampire's face as he began to scrabble to his feet. The glass shattered over the vampire's face, as the water burned like it was a vat of fast-acting acid. The vampire screamed and clutched his face, but Sawyer could see that the vampire was rapidly coming back to full health.  
  
It was now or never. Reaching inside his coat, he pulled out one of the stakes and, while the vampire was still distracted by the agony, leapt towards him, aiming for the heart.  
  
"This one's for Mina!" he yelled, as he began to bring the stake down... Only to have his wrist grabbed and twisted so hard that he could have sworn that he heard his bones crack. The stake fell from his hand and struck the ground, only to be crushed by the vampire as he walked towards Sawyer. A dark-looking smirk appeared on the vampire's face as he looked at Sawyer.  
  
"Mina, hmm? Well, that explains your interest in taking me out, I suppose," he grinned. "Tell me, did she kill someone you know and you're using me as practice for killing her, or what?"  
  
Sawyer winced as he spoke, but he was determined to show this vampire that he wasn't going to collapse because of a bad wrist. "Neither... She's... a... team-mate... of mine."  
  
"HAH!" the vampire laughed, throwing his head back in hilarity before looking back down at Sawyer. "I have no idea why you said that, but it makes no difference to me. There is no way you would be anything to Mina other than food; my blood cannot be controlled by a mere human!" Then he looked down at Sawyer and licked his sharp teeth. "Ah well, never mind; a liar or not, you'll still make a very good meal."  
  
He began to bring his teeth towards Sawyer's neck. Desperate, Sawyer tried to reach one of the stakes inside his coat, but the vampire had a tight hold of his right hand, and he wasn't as good with his left as he could be. This was it. So he was going to die at the hands of a vampire. Still, it could be worse. Maybe he'd come back as one and be of a bit more use to the League than as just a fancy shot. Admittedly he wouldn't be bringing anything new to the party, but still...  
  
And maybe he'd have a better chance with Mina!  
  
Just goes to show there's always some good in every situation, Sawyer reflected. Just before the vampire's fangs could pierce his neck, something charged at the vampire at a speed that prevented Sawyer even seeing what it was, before ramming the vampire into the wall of the tower. Fortunately the vampire had let go of Sawyer's wrist before it hit the wall, or he'd probably be dead. As the thing stopped, Sawyer finally identified it.  
  
It was Mina.  
  
"Boy, now you are a sight for sore eyes!" Sawyer smiled, as Mina looked back at him.  
  
She smiled briefly.  
  
Than she slapped him in the face.  
  
"OUCH! What was that for?!" Sawyer asked, clutching his cheek.  
  
"For being such an idiot as to take on a vampire by yourself!" she yelled.  
  
"Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time, and the others were so busy wondering if it was you or not I figured they'd take ages to decide what to do! Besides, as I recall your husband and his friends battled another vampire without any means of fighting him at long range!" Sawyer retaliated.  
  
"Not another," a voice suddenly said from behind them. Instantly Sawyer and Mina spun around, and saw the vampire facing them, covered in dust but looking ready to attack.  
  
Mina stepped back in terror at the sight of the vampire. "Oh my god..." she said, her face looking even paler than normal.  
  
"What?" Sawyer asked, looking from one vampire to the other. "Do you two know each other or something?"  
  
"Yes," Mina whispered, reaching one hand up to tap her neck. "He gave me this."  
  
"Oh my God..." Sawyer said, as he looked from Mina's neck to the vampire. He knew what Mina meant; the two small wounds on her neck that she said had been made by the vampire Dracula.  
  
He had just been fighting something that was far older and deadlier than even Dorian Gray.  
  
"We're in trouble," he whispered.  
  
"Yes, that's true enough," the vampire- Dracula- said, sweeping his cape back in an overly dramatic gesture. "So, now that you know the full story, are you prepared to surrender?"  
  
In answer, Sawyer pulled out both pistols again and aimed them at Dracula's heart, while Mina took up a combat stance as well.  
  
"Well, your funeral," Dracula smiled, licking his lips. Then he leapt towards the two of them, his fangs bared once again. Instantly, Sawyer fired both guns, striking Dracula in the chest, and Mina leapt towards Dracula, slashing at his face.  
  
*****  
  
Outside Burgas, far out in the ocean, the large, sleek figure of the Nautilus rose out of the ocean, and began to turn towards the city beside it.  
  
On the observation deck were the three figures of Nemo, Skinner and Jekyll. Nemo was examining the town with his telescope, while Jekyll fingered a phial of his serum in the event he needed to become Hyde, and Skinner just waited.  
  
Suddenly, Nemo groaned and lowered the telescope from his eye.  
  
"Found them?" Skinner asked.  
  
"In a manner of speaking," Nemo replied. "But there is a problem. I believe I saw Mr Sawyer and Mrs Harker in the tower in the centre of the city."  
  
"And the problem?" Jekyll asked.  
  
"They appear to be fighting another vampire," Nemo sighed, as the Nautilus drew even closer to Burgas. "They're in the main tower, so it's hard to make out what exactly they're fighting, but it is definitely a vampire. After all, how many other creatures can match Mrs Harker for speed and strength?"  
  
"Good point," Skinner said. As they drew ever closer, he glanced over at Jekyll. "Think Hyde can get us there in time?"  
  
"More to the point, is he willing to?" Nemo asked, facing Jekyll as well.  
  
Jekyll briefly stared vacantly up at the sky, as though he was looking at the stars. Then he looked back at Skinner and Nemo.  
  
"Yes to both," he nodded, as he pulled out the phial and opened it. "He can jump over to Brugas from here, and you two can be given a lift by him if you want. It wouldn't be too comfortable, but it would be quick."  
  
"Fair enough. Let's go!" Skinner smiled, as he slipped his glasses into his pocket, while Jekyll swallowed his serum. Instantly, his muscles began to bulge out and his clothing began to tear apart, and, in a matter of seconds, he was the eight-foot-tall, massively muscled, steel-hard creature known as Edward Hyde.  
  
"Get on," he grunted, stretching out his arms. As the two of the grabbed one arm each, Hyde leapt off the viewing deck, ran all the length of the front of the Nautilus, and leapt off the point at the end. After a brief flight, they landed on the end of Burgas's main pier. From there, Hyde leapt up onto the roof of the nearest building, and began to run towards the tower.  
  
I only hope we get there in time, Edward, Jekyll said inside his alter ego's head.  
  
We will, Henry, Hyde promised, as he leapt to another roof, narrowly avoiding dropping Skinner. We will.  
  
*****  
  
"So," Mina asked, as she grabbed one of Dracula's hands and flipped him over in a circle, "Would you mind telling me exactly how you're alive after we staked you and cut your head off?" The fight had rapidly progressed onto the roof of the tower for Mina and Dracula, and Sawyer had been reduced to just firing off a shot whenever he got an opportunity to do so. "Van Helsing was certain that doing that would kill you."  
  
"Oh, it would normally kill vampires, but how it didn't work is simple enough," Dracula smiled, as he attempted a few more punches at Mina's chest, all of which were blocked. "If a vampire lives as long as I have, he becomes practically impossible to kill. Admittedly you and your friends came close, but they made the mistake of leaving my ashes lying around on the ground. All I needed to do is wait until someone bled on where my ashes lay, and I'm back." Just then he managed to get one hard into Mina's chest, knocking her back and onto a broken roof slate. It wouldn't kill her, but she would be unable to get back up by herself, from where it stuck into her spine. "I get the feeling you won't."  
  
"She won't need to!" another voice yelled. Dracula glanced up just in time to see Sawyer, who'd used his rope to get up onto the roof, fire two silver bullets directly into his shoulders. Or rather, the bullets would have hit the shoulders, but Dracula managed to leap up out of harm's way before they struck. No sooner had the bullets gone past then he dived towards Sawyer, ramming him hard into the roof.  
  
*****  
  
As he held Sawyer down, Dracula glanced back at Mina, who still hadn't fully recovered from his last punch. Still, with the slate in her back, she wouldn't do much good even if she was awake.  
  
"Ah, decisions, decisions. Which one of you do I kill first?" he asked mockingly, looking around at the two of them. Eventually he looked over at Sawyer. "Easiest one first, I think," he grinned.  
  
"NO!" a third voice screamed. Dracula looked around in the direction of the voice, and saw what appeared to be a massive ape dressed in tatters with two men clutching onto his massive arms leaping towards him over the rooftops. No sooner had this gone through his mind than Dracula found himself pinned down by the monkey's right hand on the roof, while the other two examined Sawyer and Mina.  
  
"Well, this was unexpected," Dracula, commented trying to sound casual. Secretly, however, he was puzzled; not only did this creature look far too human for a monkey, but it was also abnormally powerful. Normally he'd have thrown it off him already. "So, you three are?"  
  
"Edward Hyde, at your service," the monkey informed Dracula, as its fingers closed around his chest and picked him up. "The man in blue is Captain Nemo, and the other is Rodney Skinner."  
  
"Well, always nice to meet new people," Dracula said, straining his arms slightly as he tried to get away from the monkey, "but I really must be going now."  
  
"I don't think so, mate," a voice said to Dracula's side. Looking around, Dracula saw it was the man in the long black coat who had helped Sawyer back up. Then Dracula noticed something odd; he could see the man's clothes and hat well enough, but there appeared to be nothing wearing them. An invisible man, or just a fancy trick? "Hyde here's a pretty dangerous character when he's in a good mood, and you really don't want to see him mad."  
  
"Don't...antagonize...him...Skinner..." another voice said. Dracula recognised it as Mina; evidently, the man in blue (Captain Nemo, he vaguely recalled) had gotten her off the slate, and her body was recovering from the spinal damage. "This man...is older...then even...Dorian..."  
  
"Ah," the floating clothes said, before the hat rotated to look at Sawyer, who was standing slighting behind Hyde. "That accurate?"  
  
"Pretty much," Sawyer replied, flexing one shoulder slightly. "This, my friends, is that Dracula sucker Mina mentioned."  
  
Dracula was pleased to note that these people had heard about him; Nemo and Hyde looked slightly shaken at that revelation, and although he couldn't see the expression on the face of the invisible man (Skinner, if that was what and who it was) he could now hear an accelerated heartbeat.  
  
"Oh nuts," Skinner groaned, as the hat moved back as though he was looking up in the air. "The last thing we need is a vampire."  
  
"Well, you don't need to worry about that," Dracula said, as he suddenly had an idea. "Because," he explained, as his bat wings spread out from his shoulders, "tonight," he added, as the shock of the wings made Hyde drop him, "You all DIE!!" he yelled, as he dropped to the ground and leapt towards the first person he could, his fangs growing to a length that put the target in mind of a sabre-toothed tiger.  
  
The target was Skinner.  
  
*****  
  
As Dracula flew towards him, Skinner did the only thing he could; grabbed his hat off his head and threw it onto Dracula's face. Although it was only a brief distraction, it was long enough for Skinner to shrug off his coat and dive to one side, where even Dracula would have difficulty finding him.  
  
Just as Dracula tore the hat off his face, Sawyer fired off his last few bullets at the vampire, striking him in an arm, a leg, a wing, and somewhere in the chest, knocking him out of the air. Dracula hit the roof, and Hyde instantly grabbed him by the arms and wings and held him up into the air.  
  
Seeing their opponent immobile, Nemo thrust forward with his sword at the heart, while Mina slashed at his throat, both of them obviously terminal wounds.  
  
Dracula screamed once as his body quickly turned into dust, the death that he had evaded twice rushing to collect, and then those ashes, that had once tried to terrorise London, collapsed onto the ground.  
  
The League stared at the ashes, until Skinner broke the silence.  
  
"Well, that was quick," he said, as he picked his hat up and put it on, his coat still lying on the edge of the tower. "Would have thought he'd put up more of a fight."  
  
"We had him at a disadvantage," Sawyer put in, slipping his pistols back into their holsters and staring at the pile. "Believe me, I've seen what he could have done in a fight if you'd given him the chance. He wasn't expecting Skinner to retaliate that fast, that was his problem."  
  
"Well, what he could have done isn't important," Hyde grunted at the rest. "Now, do you four want to be carrying Jekyll all the way back to the Nautiloid, or shall we get going now?"  
  
"No," Mina said, walking round to the other side of the tower and picking up Skinner's coat. "If any of Dracula's ashes spread out, they could come in contact with blood and he would be reborn again. We have to get rid of him for good."  
  
"And why do you need Mr Skinner's coat for that?" asked Nemo.  
  
"What else can we use to carry the ashes?" Mina asked simply.  
  
Skinner groaned. "You're kidding, right? I'm expected to go through the air, all the way back to the Nautilus, in only my hat? It was bad enough with the coat on!"  
  
"Which is more important; that you're warm, or that the world is spared from the terror of a blood-sucking monster?" Sawyer asked casually, as he shrugged off the coat he'd borrowed from Skinner and passed it over to him. "Besides, aren't you forgetting this?"  
  
Skinner looked down at the coat in his arms, and sighed with relief. "Thanks, mate," he smiled at Sawyer, as he shrugged the coat on and wrapped it around himself. At the same time Mina was sweeping the ashes into the centre of the other coat, with Hyde occasionally pointing out a little bit she'd missed. Eventually, everything was done and Mina had the coat held in a bag-like shape, with the dust at the bottom.  
  
"Well, shall we go now?" Sawyer asked, as Mina tied the coat up at the end in a knot.  
  
"Agreed. I'll fly to the Nautilus, and you three can follow on with Hyde," Mina said, as bat wings sprouted from her back, and she began to flap them.  
  
"Actually, I don't think I can carry all three of you," Hyde said. "The more I need to use my strength the faster Jekyll's serum wears off, and with all three of you on me it might run out before we can get there. Even with only two of you there's no way I'll be able to jump back onto the Nautilus; it's the Nautiloid all the rest of the way."  
  
"No sweat," Sawyer smiled, as he picked up the pieces of his rifle and slipped them into his pockets. "I'll take the streets. After all, it's not that far from here to the Nautiloid. Just remember, whoever's there first waits for the other lot."  
  
"We will," Skinner said, as he and Nemo climbed back onto Hyde's arms and looked over at Sawyer. "See you later- coming back along the streets, of course!"  
  
"We'll see about that!" Sawyer smiled, as he opened the door of the tower and began to race down the stairs to the streets. At the same time as he went down, Mina took off into the sky, and Hyde, Skinner and Nemo began to leap towards the Nautiloid.  
  
When you've just survived a showdown with an insanely powerful vampire, Sawyer thought to himself, as he began to run along the streets after Hyde, a little race is no bad thing. 


	4. Christmas Kisses

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise.  
  
Feedback: All welcome  
  
Bloodletting  
  
Upon arriving back on the Nautilus, things were basically a blur. Some of the League had been running on pure adrenaline against Dracula, and were running low. The only thing they managed to do was unload Dracula's ashes into one of Nemo's underwater coffins and fire it off into the deep, where no blood could ever bring them back to life. They had then collapsed on their beds in an exhausted state, with promises from Mina to reveal the full details of where she had gone on Christmas, at the latest.  
  
*****  
  
The next morning, things were fairly quite in the Nautilus. Nemo had decided that, given their rather tiring time last night, the League would spend the day either relaxing on the observation deck or wrapping presents, the Nautilus having been hidden away in a small cove near to Burgas.  
  
Later on in the day, Mina and Hyde headed out to the nearby forests to find a decent Christmas tree. Having found it, Hyde pulled it up, Mina trimmed the roots, and they carried it into the Nautilus's main meeting room, with the central table moved aside. They left it there, knowing Nemo's crew would decorate; they were having their Christmas party before the League had theirs.  
  
The only person to see the tree before the party was Skinner, who sneaked into the room hoping to catch someone wrapping presents unawares. However, he found all the presents under the tree already. The tree itself was a very impressive specimen, reaching all the way up to the top of the room and covered with baubles and tinsel, along with a few smaller decorations. He even noticed a small crucifix, and wished he'd seen it earlier; it would have been welcome in the fight with Dracula.  
  
He was tempted to peek at the presents, but that was something he'd never done at home, and saw no reason to start now. He simply checked to make sure all the League's presents were in the centre of the bunch of presents around the tree, and then headed back to his room. They were all due a good lie-in.  
  
*****  
  
The next morning, Sawyer was the last one at the League's Christmas party. Having arrived just outside, he opened the door and met, on the other side, a coat and a pair of trousers that were waving a glass of Scotch in the air, while warbling through 'God Save the Queen'. Evidently Skinner had been at the alcohol already.  
  
He noted, with some relief, that none of the others were in Skinner's condition. Unlike him, they'd also gone to some effort for the party.  
  
Jekyll had put on a dark blue suit with a similarly coloured waistcoat that resembled Dorian's chosen attire, but the shirt had no ruffles on it. Sawyer had on a similar outfit, but it was a dark shade of red, almost reaching brown.  
  
Nemo was in what seemed to be his usual outfit, but it had a great deal of gold trim on it around the sleeves and chest, and also on the turban.  
  
Mina was wearing a far more catching outfit than normal; she was wearing a long gown with fetchingly puffed sleeves in a brilliant red. Her hair was down and lacked its usual curls, and she was wearing a silver necklace that just managed to cover Dracula's old bites on her neck.  
  
"Ah, Tom me old mate! How are you, man?" Skinner smiled, tipping his glass at Sawyer so much that it nearly spilled some Scotch onto the floor.  
  
Sawyer smiled. "Well, Skinner. Thanks for asking." He glanced over at the others. "Has he been like this for long?"  
  
"Not too long," Nemo assured him. "We've been waiting for you for only about half an hour, but Skinner started drinking some slightly strong Scotch and took too much of it too fast."  
  
"Ah," Sawyer smiled, as he joined his friends at the table. He glanced over the dishes waiting for them on the table; an appetizing-looking Christmas cake, various assorted cold and hot meats, heated vegetables (Including carrots, parsnips and broccoli), fresh- caught salmon, and some tomato soup.  
  
Sawyer glanced over at Mina after noting the last. "That is just tomato, right?"  
  
"Of course," Mina replied, smiling slightly at him. "What, did you think I'd get back at you all for suspecting me by giving you blood soup?"  
  
"I-in our defence, we didn't all think it was you; S-Sawyer didn't, for example," Jekyll pointed out, nervously fiddling with his pocket watch. At the same time, Skinner switched from singing 'God Save the Queen' to singing what appeared to be Beethoven's Third, but with no talent and often making mistakes.  
  
"Yes, and the rest of us did not think it was definitely you, just that it might be," Nemo put in.  
  
"Really?" Mina said, looking over at Sawyer with a slight smile on her face. Sawyer turned away before she could see him blushing, and compensated by getting up, walking over to Skinner, and taking his glass out of his hand.  
  
"Hey!" Skinner yelled, scrabbling over for the drink (Which Sawyer had held high above his head) and falling over. "Whassat for?"  
  
"I think you've had more than enough, Skinner," Sawyer said, grabbing his friend by the back of the coat. The coat twisted slightly, and Sawyer got the impression Skinner was looking at him now.  
  
"I can never have too much Scotch, Tommy boy!" Skinner yelled, as he staggered to his feet. "I've always had it before I heard of some of my greatest heists! It's my lucky drink! I had some-"  
  
"On the day you heard of Hawley Griffin?" Mina asked politely.  
  
Skinner groaned a little. "Got me there, luv. I suppose it isn't all that lucky."  
  
Mina glared at him. "Don't call me 'luv', Skinner."  
  
Skinner swallowed and shut up.  
  
"Well, now that we have that business over with, shall we eat?" Nemo asked, indicating the food."  
  
"Agreed!" Sawyer smiled, as he and Skinner joined the table. He noted, with some puzzlement, that the League had given him the position at the top of the table. However, he decided to just treat it as a simple mistake and they got on with eating.  
  
Things generally went well at the meal; the League didn't exactly take it too well when they realised that they could actually see Skinner chewing (Enough to disturb anybody!), but all he needed to do was put his cream on and the problem was gone.  
  
After they were finished, the League turned over to the matter of Christmas presents. Nemo had been given a recently- published book regarding marine life by Sawyer (He knew Nemo would find nothing new, but thought he would enjoy seeing what people above thought of them), a new batch of tools by Jekyll, a new sword by Skinner, and a book on martial arts by Mina, in case he felt like going over the basics of some old moves.  
  
Skinner had been given a new coat by Sawyer, a new set of lock-picks from Jekyll and Nemo, and Mina had given him a pair of gloves. Jekyll had acquired a new set of chemicals from Mina, a new watch from Nemo, a new coat from Skinner (Which included a note requesting he didn't wear it on missions) and a new set of glass bottles for the serum from Sawyer.  
  
Mina found herself receiving a new set of chemicals from Jekyll, a sword from Nemo, a necklace from Skinner (Nobody asked where he got it from, they had a feeling they didn't want to know), and an elegant gown from Sawyer. She smiled at him as she slipped it away, and he just mumbled briefly to only wear on party occasions like today.  
  
Then it was Sawyer's turn. His gifts included a new gun from Nemo, a coat from Skinner, and a group photograph of the League from Jekyll. As Sawyer unwrapped it, he smiled briefly at the memory of when that picture had been taken; there'd been a bit of debate as to whether or not it should be Jekyll or Hyde in the picture, and then they needed to decide on if Skinner should wear his paint or not. Eventually they'd decided on a paintless, but clothed, Skinner and Jekyll.  
  
Then he came to Mina's present. He opened it up- and stared at the contents. They were five books, all of them looking in such good condition that he could have sworn they'd never even been in shops. He picked one of them up at random and looked at the title.  
  
"The Invisible Man, by H.G. Wells?" he read, before looking up at Skinner. "Is this about you, or is it Griffin?"  
  
"Griffin," Skinner smiled. "I never really did anything to merit a book when I was by myself."  
  
"So...wait a minute..." Sawyer said, as he began to check over the other four books. Dracula, by Bram Stoker... King Solomon's Mines, by H. Rider Haggard... Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson... Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne...  
  
He looked up at Mina. "These are all about you guys, aren't they?" he asked.  
  
"And Mr Quartermain," Mina replied, smiling at him again. "After you expressed an interest in our lives before we joined the League, I thought you'd like these. I had to pull a few strings with the writers, to say nothing of finding out something from this lot," she jerked her head at the other three at that, "and then spent ages picking them up, but I've had worse times."  
  
"That where you were all those days, Miss Harker?" Skinner asked, looking over from where he was still picking at his cake.  
  
"Exactly," Mina replied.  
  
"Well...thanks!" Sawyer smiled, as he picked the books up and put them with his other presents.  
  
"You're welcome," Mina smiled, as Sawyer joined the table again.  
  
*****  
  
The party went uneventfully after that. Skinner had so much more to drink that he attempted to grope Mina again and was narrowly stopped by Jekyll, before then going on to attempt to wear all the League's new clothes at once. It got him a few laughs, but they all agreed that they would never again have him wander around in anything of Mina's; an invisible man was bad enough, they didn't need him doing a drag act as well.  
  
Eventually, the League all made their excuses and left the room, heading for their rooms. Sawyer was the last to leave, and, as he walked away, he picked King Solomon's Mines out of his collection of presents and stared at it.  
  
Wish you could be here today, Allan, he thought, sighing sadly. Still, he thought, looking around the room, I may wish you hadn't died, but I wouldn't trade my time in the League for anything.  
  
"Penny for your thoughts?" someone said behind him. Glancing back, Sawyer saw it was Mina.  
  
"Oh, nothing much," he said, putting his presents down on the table. "Just thinking that... Allan would have liked this, wouldn't he?"  
  
Mina placed a hand on his shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, Tom. If he'd died and you weren't there, Moriarty would have gotten away and the world would be in danger."  
  
"But Moriarty only got the blow in because of me..." Sawyer replied, staring out a porthole.  
  
Mina cocked one eyebrow at him. "Why?"  
  
"I was being held hostage by Sanderson Reed- the Fantom's invisible man," Sawyer said, still looking out the porthole. He hadn't told the League this before, but he just had to get it off his chest. "Skinner and I had managed to dump some dust on him, but Skinner was badly burned and Reed had a knife to my throat. Quartermain saw our reflection in a mirror, and managed to shoot him down, but while he was distracted, the Fantom... stabbed him in the back..." He stopped looking at the porthole and just slumped down into a nearby chair, his head in his hands.  
  
Mina sat down beside him and, taking his face in her left hand, turned him round to face her. "No," she said simply. "Get this into you, Tom; Allan's death was not your fault. It wouldn't have made a difference if it had been you or me or Skinner or Nemo there; he would have done it for anybody. Reed would probably have tried to capture one of us for use as a hostage, you just happened to be the wrong place at the wrong time. You. Are. Not. To. Blame. Clear?"  
  
Sawyer smiled at her as she took her hand away. "Thanks," he said, grinning his typical boyish grin.  
  
"Anytime," Mina smiled at him. "After all, isn't that what friends are for?"  
  
"Friends...or more?" Sawyer asked cocking one eyebrow.  
  
Mina didn't bother answering that question with a spoken reply. Instead, she leaned in closer to Sawyer, and kissed him.  
  
For a moment Sawyer was surprised but then he got back on track, and began to return the kiss. As it heated up, the two of them clutched each other, pressing themselves ever closer, savouring the feel of each other's lips.   
  
Mina was enraptured. Dorian and her other lovers had all made her feel good, she had always thought, but Sawyer... the simple taste of him made her feel things she hadn't felt since the loss of Jonathan.   
  
Sawyer couldn't believe it. Part of him was thinking that this was all some dream, maybe caused by something he'd drunk at the party. Another part thought that maybe Mina was the drunk one. Then there was a third part that told him to just savor the sweet taste of her, the scent, the feel... she may have been a vampire, but she felt like an angel.  
  
Eventually, despite his best efforts, Sawyer was forced to part from Mina; she may have been able to last some time without any air, but he was less capable. Still, they didn't pull their heads too far apart; their foreheads were pressed close together, and their eyes were locked.  
  
"Wow..." Sawyer said, looking back at Mina.  
  
"'Wow' is indeed the word...Tom," Mina grinned back at him. "Everything you expected?"  
  
"And more," Sawyer grinned, as the two of them kissed again. He'd never expected this to ever happen, and now that it had, he was loving it.  
  
Just then, a thought occurred to him, and he pulled away from her.  
  
"Tom?" Mina asked, concerned. Was it her? Had she done something wrong?  
  
"It's not you... well, nothing you did," Sawyer assured her. "It's just, well... your vampire blood. Won't it take over at your height and make you... y'know... drink me?"  
  
Mina smiled in relief. "No worries, Tom. That was another thing I did while I was away; I checked up on vampire culture with a local expert. He told me that, so long as I never drink the blood of the innocent, Dracula's blood can only be unleashed when I wish it."  
  
Tom grinned at her happily, before kissing her again. He knew that the news was one of the best things for Mina, and he wanted to help her celebrate the only way he could.  
  
By loving her.  
  
*****  
  
Outside the room, although neither of them knew it, someone was watching them; Skinner, who'd just dropped in to see if anyone was still there and had arrived just as they started kissing. He had briefly contemplated interrupting and congratulating them both, but decided against it.  
  
Besides, they'll probably reveal it to us all publicly anyway, he thought, as he turned away from the door and walked off down the corridor, back towards his room. Only thing I can do is wish them all the best. 


End file.
